In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, BRICS leaders from left, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Jacob Zuma, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a group photo at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017. (Zhang Duo/Xinhua via AP)

India is concerned over Russia’s contradictions with the U.S. that lead up to a still close rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing, Dr. Nandan Unnikrishnan, the Vice President of Observer Research Foundation told TASS on Friday.

“When we see that the contradictions between Russia, which is our long-standing strategic partner, and the U.S., which invests heavily in our economy, lead up to Russia’s moving closer to China, a country we have serious problems with, this really bothers us,” Dr. Unnikrishnan said.

Officials in New Delhi have noted serious changes in Moscow’s approach to cooperation with Beijing in defense-related technologies.

“While previously it was quite clear Russia would never sell to China the weaponry of the same generations that it sells to India, today the situation is different,” he said. “On the contrary, China gets advanced defense technologies [from Russia] earlier than India does.”

Indians realize that the unipolar world has become a thing of the past but still there is no unified vision of what the new world order will be like, Dr. Unnikrishnan said.

“Quite possibly, there will be a bi-polar world order, with China and the U.S. being the poles, or a three-polar one, where Russia will be an independent pole,” he said. “Or maybe there will be a multipolar world.”

“We won’t be satisfied with a world divided between China and the U.S. because China will be a hegemon in the swathes of Eurasia then and that’s why, quite naturally, a multipolar word is much more appeal for us,” Dr. Unnikrishnan said. “Or, in the worst case, a three-polar world where Russia would exist between China and the U.S. so that we wouldn’t be crushed in the two countries’ hammerlock.”

To infuse dynamics into Russian-Indian relations, Moscow and Delhi need a sweeping project comparable to the initiative of compatibility of the Eurasian Economic Union [EEU] and China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ project, the expert said.

“I think we already have this project but it calls for greater attention,” Dr. Unnikrishnan said. “It needs to be bolstered by political will and economic means. This s the North-South economic corridor.”

He added that this corridor might become a supplement to ‘One Belt, One Road’, if not a full-blown alternative to it.

Dr. Unnikrishnan admitted, however, the sides do not see the full economic potential of the project. “I think for this purpose other countries should be invited to join it, too. If the project becomes multinational, a much needed quantity of energy will appear to translate it into life,” he said.